In 1888, Emily Richards asked permission from the LDS Church leadership to form a Utah chapter of the National Women's Suffrage Association.[3] The LDS Church endorsed her proposition and the association was officially organized on January 10, 1889. Richards became a state organizer serving under Margaret N. Caine who was the president of the Utah association.[4] Richards continued to establish many local suffragette associations across Utah and these local associations played a major role in granting voting rights to women in the 1895 Utah Constitution.[4]

As a leading suffragist in Utah, Richards was invited to the Chicago World's Columbian Exposition of 1893. She spoke at the World's Congress of Representative Women on May 19, 1893 with a speech entitled The Legal and Political Status of Woman in Utah. Her speech was so well received that it was included in the official publication of the World's Congress of Representative Women. At the World's Columbian Exposition Richards also spoke at the Women's Branch of the World's Parliament of Religions. No male representatives of the LDS church were allowed admission yet Richards was invited to speak. Her success at the World's Columbian Exposition led her to represent Utah women in others fairs: San Francisco (1894), Atlanta (1895), and Omaha (1898).[4]

In 1896, she was an alternate delegate to the Democratic National Convention for Utah. In 1920, Richards was also involved in the organization of the Utah chapter of the League of Women Voters.[5]

At the time many LDS members married into polygamy, but the Richards stayed monogamous. Incidentally Richards became a spokesperson representing Utah and its women by speaking on behalf of the LDS church. She was the public face of the LDS church whilee the religious organization transitioned "from plural marriage toward monogamy and assimilation."[2]

In the LDS Church, Richards served as a member of the Relief Society General Board.[5]